Game 55: Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils
Start time: **1:00 PM EST / 10:00 AM PST**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Devils region: MSGSN
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
After a couple of days off since the last back-to-back, the Canadiens are set to begin another one, first hosting the New Jersey Devils this afternoon and then welcoming the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Bell Centre tomorrow. It may not be as warm a reception as the team had hoped after a bad trip to California, but the players still need to prove that they can compete with these teams to show they can help the Habs reach loftier heights next season.
Samuel Montembeault is coming off a game versus the San Jose Sharks in which he had to be great to allow the team to pull off a win. This will be his final start before joining Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off, which begins Wednesday in Montreal, and he will want to enter the tournament on a high note. He’ll be hoping his teammates can begin to sort out their defensive issues and spend less time with the puck in their own zone.
The Devils are one of the best offensive and defensive teams in the NHL, and that remains true even with starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom and second-line centre Nico Hischier out with injuries. The Canadiens haven’t been able to beat New Jersey in two tries this season, and will be aiming to avoid a season-series sweep.
Montreal Canadiens projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #13 Cole Caufield |
#14 Nick Suzuki |
#20 Juraj Slafkovský |
| #92 Patrik Laine |
#71 Jake Evans |
#40 Joel Armia |
| #35 Alex Newhook |
#77 Kirby Dach |
#17 Josh Anderson |
| #62 Owen Beck |
#28 Christian Dvorak |
#11 Brendan Gallagher |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Mike Matheson |
#45 Alexandre Carrier |
| #48 Lane Hutson |
#24 Logan Mailloux |
| #72 Arber Xhekaj |
#58 David Savard |
| Starter |
Backup |
| #35 Samuel Montembeault |
#75 Jakub Dobeṧ |
Scratched: Michael Pezzetta, Jayden Struble
Injured: Kaiden Guhle, Emil Heineman
New Jersey Devils projected lineup
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Ondrej Palat |
Jack Hughes |
Jesper Bratt |
| Timo Meier |
Erik Haula |
Dawson Mercer |
| Paul Cotter |
Justin Dowling |
Stefan Noesen |
| Tomas Tatar |
Curtis Lazar |
Nathan Bastian |
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| Brenden Dillon |
Dougie Hamilton |
| Brett Pesce |
Johnny Kovacevic |
| Luke Hughes |
Simon Nemec |
| Starter |
Backup |
| Jake Allen |
Nico Daws |
